Skeptics have called it a huge mistake: the enzyme behind nearly all the food you eat. Is Rubisco really a bad design?

In this episode of Stars, Cells, and God, Fazale “Fuz” Rana and Hugh Ross examine Rubisco—the most abundant enzyme in the biosphere, which captures carbon dioxide during photosynthesis. A new study of hornworts, small land plants with an unusual “molecular Velcro” on their Rubisco, offers a surprising step forward—and a fresh look at the bad-design charge.

In this episode they discuss:

• Why skeptics call Rubisco a flawed enzyme
• How algae and hornworts concentrate carbon dioxide
• What the “molecular Velcro” discovery means for crops
• Why distinguishing oxygen from carbon dioxide is so hard
• Whether believing in design stops science
• What the ostrich in Job 39 reveals about apparent bad design
• How God uses our weaknesses

RESOURCES:

The papers discussed in this episode:

• https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aea0150
• https://btiscience.org/this-odd-little-plant-could-help-turbocharge-crop-yields/

DIVE DEEPER:

Uprooting a “Bad Design” Argument